1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for disposal of cigarette waste; and, more specifically, to an indoor or an outdoor ashtray that allows easy clean-up of cigarette remnants and prevents unpleasant odors from escaping into a surrounding environment.
2. Background Art
Even with the ban on smoking in restaurants, bars, and other public places in some states, the number of smokers did not decline. In the states where the ban is in effect, smokers come out in front of the buildings to smoke. While smoking in front of a building, smokers' cigarettes produce a lot of ashes and burnt cigarette remnants. Typically, a smoker would tap on a cigarette to shake off the ashes. The ashes spread in the air and then fall on the ground. This causes pollution, dirt, and other unsightly conditions to spread around. Similarly, many smokers throw burnt cigarette remnants on the street as well. Some smokers even throw out their smoked cigarettes without extinguishing. This causes cigarettes to continue burning and spreading unpleasant smells and creating fire hazards.
In the states where smoking is allowed in restaurants, bars, and other public places, smokers typically shake off cigarette ashes and extinguish cigarettes in an ashtray. Besides being an unsightly view, burning or burnt cigarettes in an ashtray spread unpleasant smells to the surrounding environment if ashtrays are not immediately cleaned. Even if ashtrays are immediately cleaned, some of the cigarettes can still be burning and, thus, cause fires in trash compactors.
There have been many solutions to the above problems. Some solutions prevent littering of the environment from the ashes and burnt cigarette remnants but create unpleasant smells and do not allow easy clean up of the container collecting cigarette waste. Others may allow easy clean up but may cause devastating fires. Yet other solutions can only be used outdoors, while others only indoors. Therefore, there exists a need for a better cigarette disposal container capable of keeping the environment litter-free, eliminating unpleasant smells, preventing fires, allowing easy clean up and being able to be used indoors and outdoors. The present invention provides such a container.